Red
by nympsycho
Summary: After a panicked night of interrupted rest, Nux learns about the delight that is female menstruation from Capable. Weird oneshot written at 5 am.


Capable and Nux huddled together to keep warm in the back of the cab, a small lantern lighting each others faces and providing warmth as they slept. Capable tucked herself into Nux's shoulder, swinging her legs over his lap, comfortable and warm with the shoddy excuses for blankets they had. Nux's boots felt heavy on his feet as he stirred slightly, reluctantly waking.

He was groggy, but he knew something was wrong. He smelled a tang of metal and warmth, a smell very familiar to him: blood. Worried, his eyes shot open, piercing the darkness outside of the cab fruitlessly. He saw the black silhouettes of Toast and Cheedo, laying in the sand with small blankets protecting them from the uncomfortable grains. There was no threat of animals, all lifeforms having been destroyed about forty years prior.

He scanned over himself, not much visible due to Capable's head and the blanket draped over his body. The smell was strong, something was definitely bleeding out, and close.

His fears focused on Furiosa and Max. They slept in the cockpit of the rig, Furiosa at the wheel. What if they'd been attacked? Nux was sure that he would have noticed, but...

He shuffled the blanket off of him with his free arm, trying to keep Capable's side undisturbed. In his fear, he still found the shine of her hair and peace on her face beautiful. Truly a gift from Valhalla, so compassionate to him in a time of great pain.

The blanket moved, the smell was strong now. Was he bleeding? He hadn't felt any pain, though he only saw Capable's legs on his lap.

There.

A tinge of red.

Nux's brow furrowed. Was Capable... bleeding? Why? She didn't seem hurt, she slept peacefully. Was something wrong inside of her? He'd heard tales of War Boys succumbing to their illness, their urine turning read with blood. Was this similar?

Not sure what to do, he reached down with his free hand, skimming the small bit of visible blood on Capable's thighs. He watched her face closely as he did, not wanting to wake her. She remained still, his fingers picking up the crimson that stained her skin.

He smelled it. It was definitely blood. Filled with fear tearing at his gut, yet not wanting to wake Capable to scare her, he slammed his foot down on the cab's floor. He hoped Furiosa or Max would hear him, help him. Someone, help. He slammed two more times, cautious of the movement to keep Capable still.

"Nux," a female voice called up to him. Groggy.

"Yeah, Furiosa, come here," he said worriedly. "Please."

He heard Furiosa sigh, then haul herself through the window to a very distraught Nux. She had been awake; they must be taking turns keeping watch. Furiosa noticed Capable sleeping, unsure of what was going on.

"She's... she's bleeding..." he held up his finger, his voice shaky, hushed, breaking.

Furiosa switched her gaze from Nux's finger to his worried eyes, then to Capable, still blissfully unaware of what was going on. Furiosa smiled slightly, the fear very apparent in Nux's features.

"What?" Nux prodded, noticing Furiosa's smile.

"I'll be back. Wake her up," she climbed back down into the cockpit. Nux was astonished; she had seemed completely calm. Why? He heard the hatch that lead to the compartment under the rig open.

He took her advice though, and began to wake Capable. He gently shook the arm he had wrapped around her shoulders. She began to stir, welcomed back to the land of the living with Nux's soft words, muttered "it's okay"s and "everything is fine"s. She could tell something was wrong, something was happening. She groaned, but grogginess quickly gave way to panic as she saw Nux's features come into focus. He was breathing heavily, smiling but it was fake.

"What..." she began to ask, only to see Furiosa climb her way into the cab. She'd been startled at first, but calmed after noticing it was Furiosa, carrying a black box with her.

"Come here," Furiosa offered her hand to Capable. Capable swung her legs around, her features falling then, a realization coming to her face. She opened her mouth to speak, moving her eyes from Furiosa to Nux, both their eyes wide. She looked down at his pants, black but glossy with blood. Nux followed her gaze, noticing the same thing she did, and let out a small, concerned yelp.

Capable muttered a short, "sorry" before grabbing Furiosa's hand and following her out of the cab, jumping down into the sand. Nux had noticed her bottom garment completely red as she crawled out. The sight frightened him.

Nux glared disgustedly down at his pants. She'd... bled on him. Was she hurt? What was happening? Why wasn't she scared? She was _sorry_ , as if she needed to apologize for being hurt.

Nux began to scramble forward to follow her, but was stopped by a grunt from down below. "Stay up there," Max muttered to Nux.

"Max, what's going on? What's wrong with her?" he whispered to him.

Max only grunted, unsurprisingly. He wasn't sure how to explain it, best to leave it to the girls.

Nux shifted his leg in his pants, feeling the sticky coolness adhere to his skin there, very uncomfortable by this fact. He saw Furiosa and Capable's black shadows move towards the sleeping Toast and Cheedo, waking them. Capable sat with them, the girls scrambling together over Capable. Nux could only stare, trusting that Max knew what was best. Everyone else seemed to know what was going on, aside from him.

Soon Capable returned to the cab. She nodded to Furiosa, sending her thanks. Capable wore a new wrap on her bottom half. She seemed calmer.

"Nux, I'm really sorry," she climbed towards him. "We can wash your pants."

"I don't... um," he wasn't sure what to address first: the fact that he was very confused and scared, or that he didn't wear anything under his pants.

"Just slip them off, they'll be dry by the time we have to head off tomorrow morning," she insisted.

Nux broke their eye contact to fumble with the buckles on his pants. "I'm um, I don't think you want, um..." he stuttered as he looked at her now, confused.

"What, do you not have... oh," Capable realized. "Here, just lay the blanket over you. I won't look."

Nux nodded. He was bothered by the coldness of the blood- like she had died on him. She seemed fine, though, concerned only with his pants. He shuffled out of his heavy pants, kicking them out of his boots. Capable grabbed them and disappeared from cab. Nux heard the other Wives giggling as the water tap turned on, the hose detached long ago. The water splashed to the sand.

"I suppose it's a right of passage," Cheedo had joked quietly.

Right of passage? What?

"Shush, you," Capable hushed. "He's scared."

They giggled again. "Scared? Of what?"

Capable said nothing more. The water turned off. There was the sound of flapping fabric, then finally a slap as she whipped his pants against the exhaust pipe of the rig to let them dry. The other girls returned to their sleeping spot, Capable climbing back into the cab. She noticed his legs, so slender and pale. They must have not seen sun in years. She admired them, having never seen them before.

Now Nux felt not only scared of what had happened, but strangely exposed. The blanket was thin, all it would take for her to see him was a good squint. He shook the thought from his head.

"Capable, are you okay?" those words the only ones he could think to utter.

"Yes, Nux, I'm perfectly okay."

"Are you hurt?"

"No," she giggled, breathy.

"What happened?" Nux asked, his nerves soothed slightly knowing she was alright. She cuddled up next to him, moving his arm back over her shoulders. She was cold. The thought bothered him.

"Fertile women go through something called 'menstruation'," she explained. "About once a month, we bleed from our womb, a sign that we're healthy and that we will be able to have babies soon. It doesn't hurt, usually, at least not for me."

Nux was still very confused. "You bleed, but you're not hurt?"

"The opposite, really. For me, I was never embarrassed by it... it's beautiful to me. It's a purely feminine process."

Nux felt much better now. Still not really understanding how any of this worked, he was just thankful to have the smell of blood gone from his nose.

"Well, at least it's over," Nux smiled.

Capable chuckled that breathy laugh again, the one that Nux had fallen in love with. "Not really... it lasts about a week."

Nux's lips parted. A week? "You bleed for a week and you don't die?"

"It's part of being a fertile woman."

Nux nodded, his mouth closing. He supposed it was something he would never truly understand.

"Sorry to get it on your pants," she continued. "I realize it's gross to men."

Nux wasn't sure how to articulate his feelings about that. "It's not gross," he finally said. "You said it was beautiful. I just didn't like the thought of your blood on me, it means you're hurt. But if you're not hurt... I don't know."

Capable looked up at him, incredulous. "You don't find it off-putting?"

"Not really. You said it's just part of being a woman. And you're a woman."

Capable smiled, reaching up to run her hand along the scars on his face. "That's real compassionate of you, Nux."

He smiled, not sure of the depth that his statement held for her.

The debacle over, Capable closed her eyes again. She leaned into Nux's chest, her fiery hair tickling him in the best way. He closed his own eyes, turning his head to bury his nose in her hair, and sighed himself to sleep.


End file.
